The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics [Paperback]

Yoram Bauman (Author), Grady Klein (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 19, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0809094819 | ISBN-13: 978-0809094813

The award-winning illustrator Grady Klein has paired up with the world’s only stand-up economist, Yoram Bauman, PhD, to take the dismal out of the dismal science. From the optimizing individual to game theory to price theory, The Cartoon Introduction to Economics is the most digestible, explicable, and humorous 200-page introduction to microeconomics you’ll ever read.

 

Bauman has put the “comedy” into “economy” at comedy clubs and universities around the country and around the world (his “Principles of Economics, Translated” is a YouTube cult classic). As an educator at both the university and high school levels, he has learned how to make economics relevant to today’s world and today’s students. As Google’s chief economist, Hal Varian, wrote, “You don’t need a brand-new economics. You just need to see the really cool stuff, the material they didn’t get to when you studied economics.” The Cartoon Introduction to Economics is all about integrating the really cool stuff into an overview of the entire discipline of microeconomics, from decision trees to game trees to taxes and thinking at the margin.

 

Rendering the cool stuff fun is the artistry of the illustrator and lauded graphic novelist Klein. Panel by panel, page by page, he puts comics into economics. So if the vertiginous economy or a dour professor’s 600-page econ textbook has you desperate for a fun, factual guide to economics, reach for The Cartoon Introduction to Economics and let the collaborative genius of the Klein-Bauman team walk you through an entire introductory microeconomics course.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
The award-winning illustrator Grady Klein has paired up with the world's only stand-up economist, Yoram Bauman, PhD, to take the dismal out of the dismal science. From the optimizing individual to game theory to price theory, The Cartoon Introduction to Economics is the most digestible, explicable, and humorous 200-page introduction to microeconomics you'll ever read.

Bauman has put the "comedy" into "economy" at comedy clubs and universities around the country and around the world (his "Principles of Economics, Translated" is a YouTube cult classic). As an educator at both the university and high school levels, he has learned how to make economics relevant to today's world and today's students. As Google's chief economist, Hal Varian, wrote, "You don’t need a brand-new economics. You just need to see the really cool stuff, the material they didn't get to when you studied economics." The Cartoon Introduction to Economics is all about integrating the really cool stuff into an overview of the entire discipline of microeconomics, from decision trees to game trees to taxes and thinking at the margin.

Rendering the cool stuff fun is the artistry of the illustrator and lauded graphic novelist Klein. Panel by panel, page by page, he puts comics into economics. So if the vertiginous economy or a dour professor's 600-page econ textbook has you desperate for a fun, factual guide to economics, reach for The Cartoon Introduction to Economics and let the collaborative genius of the Klein-Bauman team walk you through an entire introductory microeconomics course.

Take a Look Inside The Cartoon Introduction to Economics
In the panels below, Grady Klein and Yoram Bauman illustrate economist Adam Smith's principle of the invisible hand. This priciple suggests that individuals unwittingly benefit society by pursuing their own self interest. (Click on any image to enlarge)

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From Publishers Weekly

As a study aide, if you can get past—or roll with—the often-precious humor presented by humorist/Ph.D. Bauman, this book is well organized and direct, using its overviews to deflate some of the pomposity that surrounds economic theory. While pro–free trade, the book regards the theories it presents with a slight grain of salt, giving the reader an even broader view of economic history, with the trends that worked short- and long-term. Often, though, this is almost as tedious as an economics textbook—only those who are assigned a class in microeconomics might find some enjoyment in this book, a potential respite from their dry assignments. Also on the negative side, the drawings seem to be flat blobs. For those required to study the subject or already familiar with it, this has some value as a colorful brush up, but the merely curious may struggle. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang (January 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809094819
• ISBN-13: 978-0809094813
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.7 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Business & Investing > Economics > Microeconomics

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging coverage of the not-so-dismal science January 24, 2010

By Ramulin

Format:Paperback

I just finished this book and was surprised by how naturally Bauman and Grady link various topics together with a balance of serious focus and light humor.

Once I started, I found it hard to put down, since each chapter leads comfortably into the next, as if it were woven into a single, coherent story. At surprisingly frequent intervals, Bauman and Grady decorate the discussion with humorous comments about economics and economists which also tends to keep reading fun, even when discussing serious topics.

Another interesting feature is the way the book boils down the work of recent Nobel laureates in economics: the book visually demonstrates the idea. You'll soon find yourself comfortable with the new "big ideas" of economics in ways that allow you to see the world with additional insights (not to mention being able to discuss adverse selection in casual conversation with your friends...).

A final feature I found useful was a visual glossary that explains key concepts and echo the visual treatment of the concept in the book. Throughout the glossary are images that convey the meaning of economic concepts. If you're a visual learner, you will really enjoy this book.

For those who want to make sure that serious economics concepts are truly covered in this book, I've included a short list below. The book is organized into 3 main sections:

- The Optimizing Individual (one person)
This section covers decision trees, the time value of money and it's use in decision making, decision making under risk (diversification, expected value, adverse selection, etc), and trade (efficient market hypothesis, Coase Theorem, etc).

- Strategic Interactions (one person to some people)
This section covers cake cutting, Pareto efficiency, simultaneous-move games, auctions, and larger markets (competition and monopolies).

- Market Interactions (some people to many people)
This section covers supply and demand, taxes, margins, elasticity, competitive markets and externalities.

The table of contents I've listed above doesn't adequately convey the manner in which the content is covered. For example, imagine pirates discussing "maarrhginal analysis" or two siblings working on cake cutting. The topics are surprisingly full of opportunities for humor.

Bauman and Grady have found a way to make learning economics easy and fun.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars an interesting and entertaining book January 20, 2010

By Mark Harrison

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I preordered my copy, and was happy to find out that Amazon had shipped it early enough so that it would arrive at my home on the release date.

I have quite enjoyed reading it, and if you're looking for an easy-to-digest introduction to the topic, this might be the book for you. One thing that makes it a nice introduction is that

Yoram Bauman is definitely a funny guy: search for "stand up economist" on youtube, or enjoy this presentation where he translates the 10 Principles of Economics into layman's terminology. If you like this presentation you will like the book.

[...]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy & fun introduction to economics! January 5, 2011

By HAYLEY HUMMERSTON

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I teach high school economics so I bought this as a resource to help my students grasp some of the concepts involved in the subject. I loved reading the book & will definitely use some extracts in class. My only beef is that the terminology isn't always what we use in Australia, & particularly in the NSW syllabus. But this can't be helped & is a small price to pay for a truly original, amusing & engaging book which does indeed make economics more accessible.